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VERNON ADAMS AT A GLANCE

Adams was selected as the FCS National Performer of the Year by
College Football Performance Awards, and was also the runner-up for
the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in the NCAA
Football Championship Subdivision. He received first team
All-America honors from College Sporting News (“Fabulous
50”) and Beyond Sports Network, as well as second team
accolades from The Sports Network, Associated Press and College
Sports Madness.

Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year and one of two
unanimous first team All-BSC selections (the other was teammate
Cooper Kupp as both received first-team votes on all 12 ballots as
selected by the league’s head coaches).

His average of 9.0 yards per offensive play and 10.28 yards per
passing attempt were FCS records, as well as his 11 games of 300
yards or more of total offense and 10 outings with at least 300
passing yards. In all, he established 15 school records, six Big
Sky Conference marks and six FCS records.

Led the nation in pass efficiency at 183.13 and set a Big Sky
single-season record (currently fourth all-time in FCS
history).

Had a Big Sky and school-record 55 touchdown passes to lead the
nation and rank third all-time in FCS.

Second in the nation with an average of 373.3 yards of total
offense per game with a Big Sky and school record total of 5,559
yards second in FCS history). His 4,994 yards were also EWU and
league records while ranking third all-time in FCS.

One of four FCS QBs in history to engineer an upset of a top 25
FBS team. Amassed 411 passing yards and four TDs, 107 rush yards
and 2 TDs in an upset of Oregon State.

Led team to Big Sky Championship with the school’s first
ever 8-0 league record and final No. 3 national ranking.
Eastern’s only losses were to FBS Toledo and playoff teams
Towson and Sam Houston State. Eastern finished 6-2 versus ranked
opponents.

Twice earned Sports Network National Offensive Player of the
Week honors after Oregon State and Montana State wins.

COACH BEAU BALDWIN ON ADAMS WINNING BIG SKY OFFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: “I don’t want to take
anything away from players like Erik Meyer, Matt Nichols and Bo
Levi Mitchell, but Vernon’s season this year is the best
I’ve seen since I’ve been a college football coach.
He’s earned this award and there is no question about it. He
went after it and it’s been fun to see his progress. He
worked hard to improve his skills as a quarterback, such as how he
is going to beat the blitz and how he is going throw down the field
with things crashing around him. Plus the little things, like how
he’s going to lead. He’s taken a lot of hits and has
had times when his body isn’t feeling great, but he’s
played through it. The ride this year isn’t even close to
being over in our minds, and the same is true of the ride in terms
of the growth we can make as a team and Vernon’s growth as a
quarterback. His mindset is that he wants to keep getting better
and there is still a very high ceiling he can go after.”

COACH BEAU BALDWIN ON VERNON ADAMS:
“People want to look at the big plays and those are great,
but we have a player with guts to take shots and go for it. If he
gets a pick or two, so be it. But he has the guts to go win games
and stand in there. Sometimes when quarterbacks are so athletic
like Vernon, they don’t get the credit for being a 68 percent
passer and standing in the pocket and taking shots. That’s
what I appreciate so much. He’s right up there with Matt
Nichols for being the smartest quarterback I’ve had as a
sophomore in terms of thinking quick, his understanding and getting
things right on the field. It’s a lot of fun to coach that
type of player.”

– Sports Illustrated College FB Breakout Performer ((in
Sept. 2 issue and on SI.com)
– Sports Network FCS National Offensive Player of the
Week
– College Sporting News National All Star (4 chosen/FCS)
– CBSSports.com Player of the Week (4 chosen/all
classifications)
– Yahoo! Sports College Football Best (20 chosen/all
classifications)
– College Sports Madness National FCS Off. Player of the
Week/Big Sky Off. POW
– College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer
Of The Week
– College Football Performance Awards FCS Quarterback
Performer Of The Week
– One six recipients of Beyond Sports Network FCS Offensive
Player of the Week
– Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week
– One of Five “Stars of the Week” on SVP &
Russillo Show on ESPN
– One of Four FCS/FBS Nominees for Capital One Impact
Performer of the Week
– One of Eight FCS/FBS Nominees for Manning Award Player of
the Week
– Nominee for Geico Play of the Year (game-winning 2-yard TD
run vs. OSU)
(vs. Oregon State 8/31/13 - School-record 518 yards total offense
& 6 TD; 23-of-30 passing, 411 yards, 4 TD, 235.7 efficiency;
107 rushing, 2 TD)

2013 RECORDS BROKEN (19 EWU, 8 Big Sky, 6 FCS) &
RANKINGS

CAREER

Mark

Currently 3
EWU Records

Currently 2
Big Sky Records

Efficiency Rating

176.3

1st (166.5 Erik Meyer ’02-05)

1st (166.5 Erik Meyer ’02-05)

Avg. Off. Per Play

8.8

1st

1st (7.9 Drew Miller ’99-00)

(8.9 Steve McNair 1984)

QB Rushing Yards

947

1st (592 Matt Nichols ’06-09)

SEASON

Mark

15 EWU
Records

6 Big Sky
Records

5 FCS
Records

#Total Offense

5,559

1st (4,224 Erik Meyer 2005)

1st (4,400 Cameron Higgins 2008)

2nd (5,799 Steve McNair 1994)

#Passing Touchdowns

55

1st (37 Bo Levi Mitchell 2010)

1st (42 Brian Ah Yat 1996)

3rd (56 by two players)

#Pass. Efficiency Rating

183.13

1st (171.4 Erik Meyer 2004)

1st (175.2 Doug Nussmeier 1993)

4th (204.6 Shawn Knght 1993)

#Points Responsible For

356

1st (236 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

%Passing Yards

4,994

1st (4,009 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

1st (4,477 Cameron Higgins 2008)

3rd (5,076 Taylor Heinicke 2012)

%Avg. Tot. Off. Per Game

373.3

1st (364.0 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

3rd (394.3 Jamie Martin 1991)

12th (527.2 Steve McNair 1994)

@Yards Per Pass. Comp.

15.66

1st (14.96 Vernon Adams 2012)

Pass Completions

319

1st (318 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

Avg. Passing Per Attempt

10.28

1st (9.76 Erik Meyer 2005)

1st (9.88 Rocky Butle 2001)

QB Rushing Yards

605

1st (392 Matt Nichols 2007)

Total Plays

618

1st (569 Matt Nichols 2007)

1st (615 Kevin Yost 2012)

Avg. Off. Per Play

9.0

1st (8.23 Erik Meyer 2004)

1st (8.8 Doug Nussmeier 1993)

1st (8.9 Steve McNair 1994

Games 300+ Tot. Off.

12

1st

1st (11 by two players)

Games 200+ Passing

14

1st

1st (13 by two players)

Games 300+ Passing

10

1st

1st (10 by three players)

Avg. Passing Per Game

332.9

3rd (364.5 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

11th (379.6 Dave Dickenson 1995)

Passing Attempts

486

4th (505 Bo Levi Mitchell 2011)

GAME

Opp.

1 EWU
Record

1 FCS
Record

100rush/300pass

in One Game

vs. OSU

Adams had 107 rush, 411 pass

1st (many other occasions)

#Led FCS in 2013 Season. %Ranked Second in FCS in 2013
Season. @Ranked Third in FCS in 2013.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Career: Adams has a career passing efficiency
rating of 176.3 (64.2 percent, 6,955 yards, 75 TD, 23 INT), which
currently ranks as the school and Big Sky record ahead of Erik
Meyer (166.5 from 2002-05). A starter in 24 of the 27 games he has
played in his career, Adams has a career average of 257.6 passing
yards per game to currently third all-time at EWU. His 75 TD passes
are already third, his 6,955 passing yards are fifth and his 7,902
yards of total offense are third. He is now 20-4 as a starter, with
his lone losses coming against Southern Utah in 2012 and Toledo,
Sam Houston State and Towson in 2013.

2013: Among his many awards and honors, Adams
was selected as the FCS National Performer of the Year by College
Football Performance Awards. He also finished second in the voting
for the 27th Annual Payton Award given to the top player in the
NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. The winner was Eastern
Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and finishing third was Towson
running back Terrance West. The Payton Award was won previously by
Eastern players Erik Meyer (2005) and Bo Levi Mitchell (2011). That
award is bestowed on the outstanding player in the FCS and
considered the Heisman Trophy of the former Division I-AA level.
The award was presented Dec. 16 at The Sports Network's FCS Awards
Banquet and Presentation in Philadelphia. Adams was a first team
All-America selection on three teams (College Sporting News,
College Sports Journal and Beyond Sports Network), and was a second
team pick on three others (The Sports Network, Associated Press and
College Sports Madness). He was also Big Sky Conference Offensive
Player of the Year and a unanimous first team All-BSC selection,
receiving first-team votes on all 12 ballots. Adams finished the
2013 season ranked No. 1 in passing efficiency in the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision (183.13), which set school and Big Sky
records while ranking fourth all-time in FCS. He had a 65.6 percent
completion rate (319-of-486 to rank 15th in FCS), 4,994 yards
(second), 55 touchdowns (first) and 15 interceptions for the
season. Adams was third in FCS in points responsible for with an
average of 23.9 per game (total of 356 to lead FCS, with 55 TD
passes, four rushing touchdowns and one two-point conversion). He
was also second in FCS in total offense per game (373.3), fourth in
passing yards per game (332.9 per game) and third in passing yards
per completion (15.66). He had 55 touchdown passes in the 2013
season to lead FCS and come just one from the record of 56 shared
by two players. Now 20-4 as a starter at EWU, Adams has had 30 pass
completions already in his career of at least 40 yards, including
20 for touchdowns. All but four of those came in the 2013 season,
including 11 to freshman sensation Cooper Kupp. For the
second-straight year, “Big Play V.A.” was a finalist
for Geico Play of the Year for his game-winning touchdown run
versus Oregon State.

Top Peformances in 2013: Adams had a season-low
12 completions, but five of them were for touchdowns in EWU’s
41-17 win over South Dakota State. He also had his second-fewest
attempts with 22, but TD passes of 69 and 40 yards helped him to a
217-yard passing game (also second-lowest), to go along with 27 on
the ground. His efficiency rating in the game was 212.4 – his
fourth-best performance of the season. Adams matched his career
high with 457 passing yards against Portland State (11/23/13) in a
42-41 victory that secured an 8-0 Big Sky finish for the Eagles. He
finished with career highs of 34 completions and 54 attempts to
earn Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth
time in 2013 and sixth time in his career. He had five touchdown
passes, including the game-winner with 31 seconds left to Cooper
Kupp to cap a frantic four-play, 74-yard drive that started with a
minute to play. For directing a perfect 8-for-8 performance by the
offense in third-ranked Eastern’s 54-29 victory over
fifth-ranked Montana State (11/9/13), Adams was selected by The
Sports Network as its co-National Offensive Player of the Week. He
also earned national player of the week honors from College Sports
Madness and Beyond Sports Network, and was the College Football
Performance Awards FCS Quarterback Performer of the Week. In
addition, he was selected as the Big Sky Conference Offensive
Player of the Week for the third time this season and fifth time of
his career. Adams completed 16-of-18 passes for 300 yards with four
touchdowns and no interceptions against the Bobcats, and also
rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown. Adams finished with an
efficiency rating of 302.2, barely missing on school and Big Sky
Conference records. Adams became the school’s single-season
leader in passing touchdowns against MSU, and his 39 are just three
shy of the Big Sky single-season record of 42. Eastern, which
scored on all eight of its offensive possessions in the game, ran
48 offensive plays for 591 yards, a Big Sky single game record of
12.3 yards per play. Adams completed his first 10 passes versus MSU
and nearly broke the school record of 310.4 set by Eastern’s
Mark Tenneson versus Sonoma State in 1992 (10-of-14/71 percent, 265
yards, 4 TDs, 0 Int.). Tenneson’s performance stood as the
Big Sky Conference record until it was broken earlier this season
by Montana’s Jordan Johnson of 322.3. One game earlier, Adams
passed for 432 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-34 win over Idaho
State (11/2/13). For the second time this season, Adams earned
National Player of the Week honors from College Sports Madness
after leading EWU to a 42-37 win at Montana (10/26/13). He
completed 27-of-40 passes for a career-high 457 yards, ranking as
the fifth-most in school history. His six TDs tied the school
record set on five previous occasions, including once by Adams in
the second half alone of last year’s loss in the semifinals
of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. He was one
of five National All-Stars selected by College Sporting News after
accounting for five TD in EWU’s 41-19 win over Weber State
(10/5/13). He had 260 yards of total offense, completing 16-of-23
passes for 194 yards and 4 TD, and rushing for another 66 yards and
a score. Adams was added to the Walter Payton Award Watch List on
Oct. 1. Adams was 18-of-24 for 298 yards and five TD – four
in the first quarter alone – in EWU’s 43-14 win over
Western Oregon (9/7/13). In Eastern's season-opening 49-46 victory
over Oregon State (8/31/13), Adams accounted for 78 yards during
the monumental 75-yard scoring drive for the Eagles, who were the
2010 NCAA Division I champions. Adams had 411 yards (17th-most in
school history) and four touchdowns on 23-of-30 passing, and added
107 yards and two TD on the ground. With a school-record total of
518 yards of total offense, Adams broke the previous record for
total yards of 493 set by Todd Bernett against Montana in 1994. His
total was the FCS Week 1 high, as was his impressive 235.747 pass
efficiency rating.

2013 Preseason: Listed as a starter at
quarterback on the preseason depth chart. Adams and several other
Eagles helped at the Russell Wilson Passing Academy in Spokane this
past summer. Adams and Wilson – the starting quarterback for
the Seattle Seahawks -- are similar in stature and ability, and
will continue to draw comparisons as Adams’ career
progresses. Adams, in fact, is now wearing jersey No. 3 for the
Eagles – the same number Wilson wears -- after donning No. 16
as a redshirt freshman last season. The switch is unrelated to
Wilson -- Adams wore No. 3 in high school and asked for that number
after it became available when wide receiver Greg Herd
graduated.The College Football Performance Awards named him to its
Quarterback Award Watch List. He was also listed on the College
Sports Madness preseason All-Big Sky Conference second team and
ranked 32nd on the preseason FCS quarterback rankings as selected
by Josh Buchanan at philsteele.com. In three spring scrimmages he
completed 28-of-47 passes for 303 yards, but he matched his
touchdown total with four interceptions.

2012: Adams was selected as the Freshman of the
Year on the College Sporting News “Fabulous 50”
All-America team, and was also on the College Sports Journal
Freshman All-America squad. Adams was also one of 20 players on the
ballot for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS
by The Sports Network (he finished sixth in the voting, which
occurred prior to the playoffs). Adams ranked fourth in FCS in
passing efficiency (160.80), and was the only freshman in the top
24 of the rankings. He also was 69th in FCS in total offense (191.5
per game). His efficiency rating also ranked fourth all-time in
school history. In nine games as a starter and three as a sub, he
completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,961 yards, 20 touchdowns
and eight interceptions. With he and Kyle Padron sharing time at
quarterback, the Eagles finished with 4,469 passing yards, breaking
the previous record of 4,102 yards in 2005. In back-to-back games
in the FCS Playoffs, each had a school-record six touchdown passes
-- Padron versus Illinois State (12/8/12) in the quarterfinals and
Adams against Sam Houston State (12/15/12) in the semifinals. Adams
completed 14-of-26 passes for 364 yards – all after
intermission --- as EWU scored 42 points in the second half to
rally from a 35-0 halftime deficit and nearly pull off an
improbable rally. His yardage against SHSU was a career high and
ranks 38th in school history. His incredible scramble and touchdown
throw against Sacramento State (10/20/12) was one of eight
finalists for the GEICO Play of the Year. Facing a six-man rush
from the Hornet 10-yard line, Adams avoided as many as eight
tackles as he back-peddled side-to-side to the 35, then
side-stepped a defender and tossed a touchdown pass to Greg Herd in
EWU’s 31-28 win over Sac State. Adams won the Play of the
Year voting for Week 8, and the eight weekly winners were shown on
GEICO Best of College Football 2012 on CBS on Nov. 23. The winner
of the GEICO Play of the Year was a one-handed catch by Ohio
State’s Devin Smith. Adams completed 17-of-21 passes for 169
yards and two touchdowns against Sac State to earn team offensive
player of the week honors. In an unannounced and surprise start,
Adams made his first career start in EWU’s 32-26 victory at
Weber State (9/22/12), and used his arm and his feet to lead EWU to
a 20-3 halftime lead. Adams led Eastern to scores on four of five
drives in the first half, including a 75-yard touchdown march on
his first drive as an Eagle. He finished the game 7-of-12 for 75
yards, and ran five times for 62 yards, but missed most of the
second half with cramping. Of his five rushes, four were for first
downs; of his seven completions, four more resulted in EWU first
downs. One game later in his home starting debut, Adams atoned for
a fourth-quarter fumble and interception by throwing two touchdown
passes in the in the final 2:19 as the No. 7 Eagles rallied for a
32-26 victory over 21st-ranked Montana (9/29/12) at Roos Field. As
a result, Adams was selected as the Sports Network co-Freshman of
the Week in the FCS, the College Sports Journal co-Freshman of the
Week and the ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week awarded by
the Big Sky Conference. Eastern put together an 82-yard scoring
drive to pull within two points with 2:19 remaining on a 30-yard
touchdown pass from Adams to Brandon Kaufman. After EWU
successfully recovered an onside kick, Eastern scored again on a
20-yard TD pass from Adams to Ashton Clark with 53 seconds to play.
Adams completed 25-of-41 passes for 353 yards (52nd-most in school
history) and three touchdowns in his second career start for EWU,
and also added a team-leading 54 yards rushing. He accounted for
407 of EWU’s 447 yards of total offense. In the final quarter
alone, Adams was 13-of-21 for 171 yards and a pair of scores.
Eastern scored the first time it had the ball on an eight-play,
75-yard scoring drive, then led 14-7 in the second quarter on
Kaufman’s 36-yard TD reception from Adams. Later in the year,
Adams repeated as ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week after
accounting for 356 yards of offense in seventh-ranked EWU’s
34-17 win versus No. 16 Cal Poly (11/3/12). He led the Eagles with
288 yards passing and 68 on the ground, as the Eagles finished with
a season-high 542 as a team. He completed 19-of-29 passes and had
three touchdown tosses, and also rushed for 68 yards.
Eastern’s scoring drives in the game were of 81, 66, 74, 69,
41 and 83 yards. For his effort, he also received honorable mention
Performer of the Week accolades in FCS by College Football
Performance Awards. With an off-the-charts efficiency rating of
252.6 in just his third career start, Adams earned College Sports
Madness Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week in EWU’s 55-17
win over North Dakota (10/6/12). He completed 12-of-15 passes for
151 yards and four touchdowns in just over a half of work to also
earn team offensive player of the week honors. He also had a net 38
yards rushing (long of 23). Eastern finished with 458 yards of
offense overall. Adams finished with 191 yards rushing for the
season (4.9 per carry). He scrambled his way to 62 yards in his
starting debut versus Weber State, another 54 versus Montana
(9/29/12) and a season-high 68 against Cal Poly
(11/3/12).

2011: Redshirted. Was selected as
Eastern’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year. Was
selected as the team’s offensive scout team player of the
week once.

HS: Graduated from Alemany HS in Mission Hills,
Calif., in 2011. In his final two seasons, he passed for 5,234
yards and 49 touchdowns, and rushed for another 1,263 yards and 19
more scores in leading Alemany to an overall record of 22-5. As a
senior, he was selected the Serra League Most Valuable Player after
leading the Warriors to the league title in 2010. He earned
first team all-league honors for the second-straight season.
Alemany won its first 12 games before losing its final game of the
season, 28-21, against eventual champion Servite in the semifinals
of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Playoffs. He passed for 2,901
yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and had 896 yards
rushing with 14 touchdowns. As a junior, he passed for 2,333
yards and 22 touchdowns, and also rushed for 367 yards and five
scores. He led Alemany to a 10-4 record.